chlamydia

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As a researcher working in sexual health, I try to keep an ear to the ground with regard to developments in the STI realm. Regardless of one’s personal or professional interests, however, it is difficult to ignore the spotlight that has been shining on chlamydia in recent times. From posters on public toilet doors, to plotlines on Australia’s second-favourite evening soap, one can certainly argue that chlamydia is Australia’s STI du jour. As I am currently devoting my professional life to chlamydia-specific research, I must disclose that the chlamydia fervor is subsidizing my lifestyle. But aside from funding my penchant for fine cheeses and late-night Etsy binges, there are a number of reasons why chlamydia is deservedly the focus of national attention. Continue Reading →

Koalas don’t do much. They sleep 18-22 hours a day, sit around in trees, and eat heaps of eucalyptus leaves. But during their few waking hours, they manage to get chlamydia. Really. Mating is one of the only things for which koalas manage to get motivated. Continue Reading →

Chlamydia is the most common bacterial STI and in my work as a sex educator, I’ve heard a lot of myths and misconceptions about this little bacterium. For many of us born in the 1980s and 90s, STI education focused primarily on HIV â€“ understandably so, since HIV is a much more serious infection. Chlamydia sometimes gets left out because it’s non-lethal, but a little extra knowledge can go a long way. Here’s a short quiz to test your chlamydia IQ: Continue Reading →

On the last two Tuesdays, we’ve addressed what to do when a condom breaks or when you get cut or torn during sex. This week, we’re tackling what to do when you wake up and realize you had a casual encounter with a random. Sex Crisis #3: You Wake Up and Realize You Went Home With a Random

Many people have been in the sticky situation of realizing that they went home with – and likely had casual sex with – someone who they didn’t know very well, and certainly not well enough to know whether this person was a good choice or a bad choice to bed down with. Here’s what to do should this happen to you: Continue Reading →

Last semester, students in my human sexuality class had an assignment to create a public service announcement (PSA). The videos touched on a wide range of topics from college hook-ups to condom use to alcohol and sex to chlamydia and HIV. Though the the PSAs were shown exclusively in class, some of them also added theirs to the conversation on YouTube. Check out their brilliant (and sometimes touching, sometimes quite funny) work here:

As this article from the Baltimore Sun suggests, rising rates of sexually transmissible infections (STI) do not always mean that there are so many more cases – sometimes it means that testing is better. Case in point: the old school way of sticking a swab in men’s urethras (ouch!) kept a lot of men from going to get tested. Now that most clinics are moving toward using urine samples for testing, more men are going in and getting tested. And thank goodness! A few key things to know about chlamydia: Continue Reading →

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Recently, I saw a blog post called "I am not a puzzle box" making the rounds on Facebook. It was popular for a very good reason: it provided a metaphor that explains why "creepy" behaviors and harassment are so often made out to be innocuous, normal, or the fault of the victim.

According to a recent report (pdf), spreading sex education messages on social media such as Facebook can be effective in raising not only awareness of STIs and pregnancy but also increasing condom use among teenagers. Lead investigator Dr. Bull suggests that "Facebook for sexual health interventions is at least equally effective as other technology-based mechanisms, and these effects match those observed for more traditional HIV prevention programs delivered in real-world settings."

Twitter is a great place to hear about the work sex educators and researchers are doing all over the world. Often it will be the first place I see the latest sex-in-the-news story or it'll be the inspiration for a new sex ed project.

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